Amelia Island’s loggerhead sea turtles are nesting while a new generation of satellite-tagged turtles begins a long-distance migration race across the Atlantic and Caribbean. The timing gives Nassau County beachgoers a close-up look at both the local nesting season and the science following these animals far beyond Florida’s shoreline.
In a Tuesday update, Nassau County, FL said nesting season remains underway and highlighted the 2026 Hardshell Tour de Turtles race. The featured competitors include Krysta, Girl Power, Fin Diesel, Azur, Sparky, Seaglass, Lega-sea, Pua, Hei Hei, Starlight and Sandy, with turtles representing nesting beaches in Florida, Costa Rica and Nevis.
Satellite Tags Turn Turtle Migration Into A Live Race
The Sea Turtle Conservancy says Tour de Turtles began in 2008 as an educational migration marathon that uses satellite telemetry to follow turtles from nesting beaches toward feeding grounds. Competitors are tracked for roughly three months, with the winner determined by the greatest distance traveled rather than the fastest daily pace, according to the organization’s Tour de Turtles overview.
People can follow the 2026 competitors through the online turtle tracker, where the maps show each animal’s latest reported position and relative distance. The journeys are more than a friendly swim across the map: Nassau County’s update says the tracking data helps scientists study migration patterns, feeding grounds and threats facing sea turtles.
One of this year’s Florida competitors, Krysta, was released with a satellite transmitter after nesting on Anna Maria Island in June. The Sea Turtle Conservancy reported that she had traveled about 692 kilometers, or 430 miles, as of her latest August 2 location update, offering a vivid example of how quickly a nesting-season story can become an open-ocean one.
Nassau’s Nesting Season Is Still In Progress
Florida’s latest completed statewide survey recorded 155 loggerhead nests, 16 green turtle nests and one leatherback nest in Nassau County during 2025. Those figures come from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and provide recent local context, though they are not a count of the still-active 2026 season.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says nesting on north Florida beaches generally begins in April or May and continues through the fall. The agency urges visitors to keep beaches clean and dark, give nesting turtles plenty of space, avoid disturbing nests and hatchlings, and remove beach furniture or other obstacles that can block a turtle’s path.
For Amelia Island, the message is straightforward: the beach is a nursery first and a viewing opportunity second. A quiet shoreline, fewer lights and a little extra distance can help protect the turtles whose journeys are now being followed well beyond Nassau County.
